Cake Decorating
Cake Decorating can be intimidating to many people. They feel like it is a fine art best left up to the experts. In fact, it is easy if you know how! In this article, we give a basic overview of the tools, ingredients, and techniques to do simple projects. For more information, talk to the experts at your local Wilton Cake Decorating shop. First, gather your tools. You will need a basic buttercream icing (you can purchase this pre-made or in a packet at your local craft store), a few tips and bags, a long thin spatula specially and some food colorings of your choice. Any cake will do for the beginning cake decorator. The simplest technique is to bake a two-layer, round cake from a boxed mix. You may also want to whip up a tasty filling to put between the layers (for example, chocolate pudding or raspberry jam -- check a cookbook for more filling ideas). Make sure the cakes cool completely before frosting, and that your frosting is relatively cold. Spread a thin, rough, layer of frosting over the entire cake and a thicker layer in between the layers (if not using a filling). This thin layer is your crumb coat, and it doesn't matter if it doesn't look good at this point. After chilling, spread a thicker, more even layer over the crumb coat. If it doesn't look perfect, you can spread a third layer! Each layer improves the smoothness of the frosting. Now, on to the actual decorating. There are many easy cake decorating ideas to choose from. Lines are easy to pipe -- just select the correct tip from your kit, and you are ready to go. You can pipe names, sayings, cross-hatching, round balls (place the tip very close to the surface and squeeze until you have a nice round ball), and decorative motifs of all kinds. A second idea is to decorate your cake with flowers -- use a leaf tip from your kit and place at an angle and squeeze to make leaf or petal shapes. If you do this repeatedly, you can make a simple flower. Be sure to practice on waxed paper before you begin to decorate the cake! If all this sounds like too much, take heart. Even easier ideas are to use specialty sprinkles and glitters, to ask a local bakery to make you an edible photo transfer, or decorate the cake with real, edible flowers! Plastic figurines and small toys can also decorate a fun-themed kids' cake. Remember, there are no rules or limits -- cake decorating is an art as unique and personal as you are!
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